Mahjong

Mahjong is one of the most popular games in China. Four people play a total of 136 pieces. Some people joke that mahjong is the fifth invention of the country. In terms of recreational influence, no other game can compare with mahjong. Mahjong is also nick named "maque"(sparrow) and mahjong players are called "que you" (sparrow friends). It has a long history and basic rules were settled as early as the mid-Qing Dynasty (1616- • 1911 ). Liang Shih-chiu once said that "where there are Chinese, there is mahjong". Liang Qichao, who aided Emperor Guangxu in political and economic reforms at the turn of the 20th century, was a super mahjong fan. Many of his commentaries were composed over the mahjong table.
Many mahjong players like to quote Liang's saying "only when reading can forget mahjong, only when playing mahjong can forget reading". In the 1820s, mahjong was introduced abroad and won many fans. Hu Shih wrote in his short article Mahjong that "nobody has dreamed that the pioneers in the Oriental culture's Western excursion were the 136 mahjong generals". For some people, mahjong has become the sole means of recreation. Over the Spring Festival, most families would stay by the television for the evening gala show on China Central Television.
Both young and old would play mahjong to spend the long holiday. It is unreasonable to require everyone to be ambitious, and it is unnecessary to regard mahjong as a monster that swallows time and money. The game does help many elderly people spend the last years of their lives happily. At the funeral of her grandma, a girl placed mahjong pieces in an order that would win the highest amount of chips in a game. One's character is reflected faithfully in the way he or the plays mahjong. A quiet person might remain composed at losing or gaining huge sums, an impetuous person might upset the whole table at the smallest errors.